Jharkhand CM challenges PMLA court order in HC, plea’s maintainability to be heard tomorrow

New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that about 18 students at a government school in Bihar’s Katihar district were allegedly subjected to corporal punishment by their teacher after being locked inside a room.

According to the press report, carried on August 22, the ordeal ended only when some parents, who had come to the premises of the school in the Haflaganj area for other work, raised an alarm.

The incident triggered outrage in the locality, with several villagers gathering at the school to protest.

Sensing trouble, all the male teachers reportedly fled the scene before the police reached the spot.

Taking note of the report, the apex human rights body observed that the contents, if true, raise serious concerns of human rights violations of the students.

The NHRC has issued notices to the Bihar Chief Secretary and the Superintendent of Police, Katihar, seeking a detailed report on the incident within two weeks.

Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC, an autonomous statutory body, is an embodiment of India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights. Its primary role is to protect and promote human rights, defined as the rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of individuals guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in international covenants and enforceable by courts in India. The apex human rights body has the power to take suo motu (on its own motion) action based on media reports, public knowledge or other sources, without receiving a formal complaint of human rights violations.

Earlier in the day, the NHRC took suo motu cognisance of another media report that an Imam allegedly sexually abused a 7-year-old boy at a mosque in the Jhabreda area of Uttarakhand’s Roorkee last week. The boy had gone to the mosque for religious studies when the perpetrator allegedly took him to his room by force and committed the heinous act.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) NITI Aayog on Monday underscored the need for strategic electrification of key freight corridors, given that 70 per cent of the country’s freight moves by road.

Observing that only around 800 heavy-duty electric trucks were sold in 2025, Rajiv Gauba, Member, NITI Aayog, called for blended finance mechanisms, leasing models, and stronger data systems to bring the cost of capital for electric trucks closer to diesel equivalents.

Delivering the inaugural address at the 5th ‘E-Fast India Summit 2026,’ he marked a significant milestone in India’s clean mobility journey with the launch of the Platform for Aggregating Clean Transport (PACT) and the Zero Emission Truck (ZET) Marketplace.

He called upon logistics providers, manufacturers, charge point operators and financiers to engage with the platform in shaping the corridors, financing instruments and commercial models that will define electric freight in India.

Gauba noted that e-FAST has evolved over four years from a forum for dialogue into a vehicle of coordinated action, mirroring the shift in India’s clean mobility discourse from intent to implementation.

According to a NITI Aayog statement, Gauba emphasised that transitioning to electric mobility is an economic, environmental, and strategic imperative essential for achieving the global commitment of Net Zero by 2070 and realising the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

He also highlighted that accelerating electric vehicle adoption is vital for the nation’s energy security and improving citizens’ quality of living.

Moreover, Gauba outlined the progress achieved through government initiatives including the PLI schemes for automobiles and advanced chemistry cells, expansion of public charging infrastructure owing to investments made by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), and demand-side schemes such as FAME, PM e-DRIVE, PARIVARTAN and PM e-Bus Sewa, supporting a rise in EV sales.

Gauba noted that while heavy trucks represent only 3-4 per cent of the vehicle fleet, they contribute to over a third of transport-sector carbon emissions.

He also identified structural fragmentation among logistics operators, high financing costs, and the absence of coordinated corridor planning as the key constraints holding back the market, noting that PACT and the ZET Marketplace have been designed to close precisely this gap through demand aggregation, financing innovation and corridor-based projectization.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) Sneha Debnath did not look depressed and was rather calm, said the neighbour of the 19-year-old Delhi University student whose body was recovered from Yamuna River, almost a week after she went missing on July 7.

A senior Delhi Police official confirmed the discovery and said her family had identified the body. Preliminary investigations indicate that Sneha, a native of Tripura and a resident of Delhi’s Saket area, died by suicide after jumping off the Signature Bridge in Geeta Colony.

Police also recovered a signed suicide note in which Sneha described herself as a “failure and a burden” and stated that life had become “unbearable.” In the note, she mentioned that her decision was taken “fully consciously” and not under any influence.

Despite the note, those who interacted with her shortly before she went missing described her as composed and calm.

Her neighbour told IANS, “I never saw her tensed. When I met her on July 7, she seemed completely normal. She was talking to someone on the phone; the conversation also seemed normal. I last saw her around 5:15 a.m. when she took the cab.”

The same was mentioned by the cab driver who dropped her off at the Signature Bridge in Delhi’s Geeta Colony on July 7.

“I had picked her up at 5:15 a.m., and she had a ride of 45 minutes. I dropped her at the signature bridge. After the ride, she paid me Rs 523 online. She did not seem to be bothered. She asked if she could connect Bluetooth to play music. I said no but offered to play YouTube songs instead. She asked me to play any song I liked. She seemed relaxed,” he told IANS.

“About five minutes before the ride ended, she got a call. She told the caller she would call back after paying for the ride. She paid Rs 523 online and got off near the Signature Bridge. I took a U-turn after dropping her and didn’t see her again, but I didn’t suspect anything. There were people around, and there are also cameras in the area, though I don’t know if they’re functional,” he added.

The cab driver said that Sneha’s sister contacted him around 2 p.m. that day. The police also questioned him and visited the drop-off location he had identified.

The Delhi Police are now conducting a full-fledged investigation into the incident.

Sneha’s disappearance triggered concern across states. Her father, Pritthis Debnath, a military personnel, is said to be in constant touch with the Delhi Police. He had also reached out to Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, who expressed condolences and directed officials at Tripura Bhavan in New Delhi to assist the grieving family.

“The Chief Minister has ordered a detailed probe into the incident. Senior Tripura Police officials are in touch with their counterparts in Delhi,” an official from the CMO said.

According to reports citing family sources, Sneha had left her home early on July 7 to receive a friend at Sarai Rohilla railway station. However, the cab she took dropped her off at the Signature Bridge instead. Her phone was switched off shortly after.

A mathematics student at Delhi University, Sneha had not withdrawn any money from her account in recent months, and her bank balance remains untouched.

Sneha’s four-member family has been staying in Delhi for many years. Family members remain extremely concerned. She left home without any belongings and had not withdrawn money from the ATM in the past few months. Sneha’s bank account remains untouched so far.

–IANS

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